The Guardian: Technology Guardian

Thursday 26 August 1999

Technology news & features p2

The US Justice Department wants to be able to break into private premises and disable security precautions on personal computers, The Washington Post reported late last week. The envisaged Cyberspace Electronic Security Act is the department's response to the use of encryption programs "to facilitate criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, white-collar crime and the distribution of child pornography", according to a department memo quoted by the Post.

Technology news & features p5

Apple sues Apple has sued eMachines over the design of its new eOne desktop computer, which it thinks looks a bit too much like the iMac. The $799 eOne (below) is made by Trigem, a South Korean company which owns 51% of eMachines. In July, Apple also sued Future Power, a company backed by South Korea's Daewoo Group, because of the even more similar appearance of its E-Power computer. Both these iMacalikes run Microsoft's Windows 98 operating system not Apple's proprietary Mac OS, but the similarity of the cases or "trade dress" is the issue. In the early 1980s, IBM also took or threatened legal action against companies selling clone PCs in cases that looked too similar to the original IBM PC.

Technology news & features p6

Technology news & features p7

Price war Rival console manufacturers Sony and Nintendo both cut prices last week ahead of the launch of Sega's new Dreamcast games machine, due in the US on September 9 and in the UK on September 23. In the US, the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation both cost less than $100. In the UK, Sony lopped £20 off the PlayStation price, bringing it down to £79.99, while Nintendo launched a standalone N64 at the same price. (It costs £99.99 with the Goldeneye 007 game or £119.99 in a Star Wars pack.)

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